Uneven Access

Southern Africa is naturally blessed with enough fertile soil to meet the nutritional and economic needs of the people living there.

But variations in national seed certification and quality-control standards across the region have historically impeded seed trade. Also, incompatible quarantine and plant health regulations from one country to the next raise the cost and slow the delivery of seed.

Without access to high-quality seed, farmers struggle to achieve the productivity necessary to feed themselves and their fellow citizens and build strong, sustainable businesses that can drive the larger economy.

Lowering Barriers

DAI, in partnership with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), has since 2016 implemented the Feed the Future Southern Africa Seed Trade Project, which harmonizes seed laws and regulations among target countries and exposes farmers to technologies, innovations and management practices that can improve their productivity and self-reliance.

The project aims to lower costs and accelerate the cross-border flow of seed, expand seed variety, promote private sector investment and give isolated national markets greater access to Southern African Development Community (SADC) seed trade. The project operates primarily in Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe, but its impacts have spilled over to the remaining 12 SADC Member States.

Impact

In 2019, the Seed Trade Project trained more than 1,600 people on the SADC Seed Certification and Quality Assurance guidelines and other essential agricultural business practices, and it engaged with 9 seed companies to register 58 additional seed varieties— for maize, Irish potato, sorghum, soybean, beans, wheat, ground nuts, and cotton.

This means farmers can use 83 registered seeds to grow crops in any one of the 16 SADC member states without further testing or red tape, which speaks to increased access to high-quality improved seed.

The project also supported Seed Co. Zambia, Ltd.’s first-time export of hybrid maize seed to the Democratic Republic of Congo. The 200 metric tons of hybrid maize seed, valued at $370,000, is certified according to the SADC’s Harmonized Seed Regulatory Systems requirements.